Recent reports indicate that hypoxia influences the circadian clock through the transcriptional activities of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) at clock genes. Unexpectedly, we uncover a profound disruption of the circadian clock and diurnal transcriptome when hypoxic cells are permitted to acidify to recapitulate the tumor microenvironment. Buffering against acidification or inhibiting lactic acid production fully rescues circadian oscillation. Acidification of several human and murine cell lines, as well as primary murine T cells, suppresses mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling, a key regulator of translation in response to metabolic status. We find that acid drives peripheral redistribution of normally perinuclear lysosomes away from perinuclear RHEB, thereby inhibiting the activity of lysosome-bound mTOR. Restoring mTORC1 signaling and the translation it governs rescues clock oscillation. Our findings thus reveal a model in which acid produced during the cellular metabolic response to hypoxia suppresses the circadian clock through diminished translation of clock constituents.

Calorie restriction, without malnutrition, has been shown to increase lifespan and is associated with a shift away from glycolysis toward beta-oxidation. The objective of this study was to mimic this metabolic shift using low-carbohydrate diets and to determine the influence of these diets on longevity and healthspan in mice. C57BL/6 mice were assigned to a ketogenic, low-carbohydrate, or control diet at 12 months of age and were either allowed to live their natural lifespan or tested for physiological function after 1 or 14 months of dietary intervention. The ketogenic diet (KD) significantly increased median lifespan and survival compared to controls. In aged mice, only those consuming a KD displayed preservation of physiological function. The KD increased protein acetylation levels and regulated mTORC1 signaling in a tissue-dependent manner. This study demonstrates that a KD extends longevity and healthspan in mice.

REDD1 is a transcriptional target gene of p53 and HIF-1, and an inhibitor of mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) complex 1 (mTORC1)-signaling through PP2A-dependent interaction, making it an important convergence point of both tumor suppression and cell growth pathways. In accordance with this positioning, REDD1 levels are transcriptionally upregulated in response to a variety of cellular stress factors such as nutrient deprivation, hypoxia and DNA damage. In the absence of such conditions, and in particular where growth factor signaling is activated, REDD1 expression is typically negligible; therefore, it is necessary to induce REDD1 prior to experimentation or detection in model systems. Here, we evaluated the performance of a commercially available polyclonal antibody recognizing REDD1 by Western blotting in the presence of thapsigargin, a pharmacological inducer of ER stress well known to upregulate REDD1 protein expression. Further, REDD1 antibody specificity was challenged in HEK-293 cells in the presence of RNA interference and with a REDD1 (-/-) mouse embryonic fibroblast knockout cell line. Results showed reproducibility and specificity of the antibody, which was upheld in the presence of thapsigargin treatment. We conclude that this antibody can be used to reliably detect REDD1 endogenous expression in samples of both human and mouse origin.

During obesity, a hypoxic state develops within the adipose tissue, resulting in insulin resistance. To understand the underlying mechanism, we analyzed the involvement of caveolae because they play a crucial role in the activation of insulin receptors. In the present study, we demonstrate that in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, hypoxia induces the disappearance of caveolae and inhibits the expression of Cavin-1 and Cavin-2, two proteins necessary for the formation of caveolae. In mice, hypoxia induced by the ligature of the spermatic artery results in the decrease of cavin-1 and cavin-2 expression in the epididymal adipose tissue. Down-regulation of the expression of cavins in response to hypoxia is dependent on hypoxia-inducible factor-1. Indeed, the inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 restores the expression of cavins and caveolae formation. Expression of cavins regulates insulin signaling because the silencing of cavin-1 and cavin-2 impairs insulin signaling pathway. In human, cavin-1 and cavin-2 are decreased in the sc adipose tissue of obese diabetic patients compared with lean subjects. Moreover, the expression of cavin-2 correlates negatively with the homeostatic model assessment index of insulin resistance and glycated hemoglobin level. In conclusion, we propose a new mechanism in which hypoxia inhibits cavin-1 and cavin-2 expression, resulting in the disappearance of caveolae. This leads to the inhibition of insulin signaling and the establishment of insulin resistance.

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